Shoe and shank stiffener and method of attaching the latter



Nov. 28, 1933. LE ROY w. ROLLINS El AL 955 SHOE AND SHANK STIFFBNER AND METHOD OF ATTACHING THE LATTER Filed April 17, 1931 1 Y l-Jr;

Patented Nov. 28, i933 Johnson, Beverly, Mass.,,"assignors to United Shoe Machinery .Corporatiomjaterson, N. J.,- v

- acorporation of New Jersey.

' lApplicationApril 17,1931. sei iire. 530,914

This invention relates to improvements in. shoes and shank stiffeners .thereforjand to improved methods ofattaching shankstiffeners.

In the manufacture of shoeshaving shank I stiffeners located between inner and 'outersoles,

it is customary to employ fastening'rneans such as tacks or prongs forsecuring the stiffeners to the inner' soles to insure that the stiffeners .will be permanently retainedin the. proper locations;

min the shoes. In order that the tacks or-prongs shall provide a, sufficiently secure bond they are usually passed entirely throughthejinsoleot the shoe and clenched over the inner surface of the insole This practice is often undesirable, however, inasmuch as the clenched-over ends of.

the prongs or tacksmar .theappearance ofthe inside of the'shoe and are liable to wear. holes) in the sock lining andpin weareroftheshoa' One object of the present inventionis to'provide forthe'secure fastening of a shank stiffener. to an insole or correspondingv shoe bottom memher in an improved and practical manner'and without employing fastening members which ex: 5 tend through to the inside of the shoe. 7 y Withthis object in-view one featurepfthe invention consists in the provision of; an improved method of attaching shank :sti-fieners which con-.- sists in placing a shankfistifienenupon a.so1e, positioning a staple withits legsstraddling a portion ofthe stiffener, andforcing the legs of the; staple. into the soleyin converging directions to: clench them withinthe materiaLof the 'solewbeneaththe head of the staple. As herein-illustrat-.-.-

ed the staple legs are driven-through spaced apertures in thestiffener andare defiectedtoward each other, as they are 'being'drivem: by. contact with converging deflecting'surfaces{formed in the walls of theapertures-in the stifien'enithe 40 deflecting surfaces being constructed Znd'flalE-x he. sto in of the ranged to .cause the, points; of the staple" legs:

to curl inwardly and clenchbeneath the head of the staple in such a manner as most efiectively to resist displacement andthusQsecurely to hold the stiffener in place. V ,Inaccordance with another feature;; o f .the invention there'lhas been provided a n ;improved. shank stiffener havin'g fastener' deflecting sur faces constructed and 'arranged to";.deflect fastener members toward eachfother aSihey'jare being driven into a sole to. wh i'chth-lstifiener isto be-attached. Inlthe iHustratedenibodi merit of" this feature of the "invention two.op,-. positely inclined fastener deflecting surfaces are .55 arranged a acetiw mgg a sessin stiffener 'andthe passagesof eachpair arecon gagingsurface of thelstiffenen,

cordance with the present invention;

engaging side of the stifiener;

. stiffener as it appears when stapled to an insole;'

' Fig Tis a cross-secti vtion of a shoe bodied therein;

lthi ough theflegs of staple? i may be "driven. these inclinedv surfaces. sloping mwardlyand being arranged; to ,defle'ctithe' legs of the staple toward eachother so 'that they will ,clench Iwithin theflrnateri'aliof th'e' insole and beneath the head of the staple in a manner firmly'to secure the stiffener'idplace without, however, "extending through to the inner s'ur face of the insole. Furthermore, inlorderjto provide for more secure attachment :to. an 'in sole; .the i llustrated stiffener is provided with a pair .of passages or apertures'and associated;

deflecting surfacesin each endportion ofthe nected by a groovefin the outsole en'gaging surface of the stifiener in which the ,crossp'iece of the's't'aple isfadapted to be countersunkso as:

to .befsubstantial1y flush with the outsole-eri --,Considered in another aspect; the invention, as herein illustrated resides in ashoe having an inner sole andan outer sole, ashank stiffenerlocated between the soles, and formed with a pair of. passages; providing:. converging,- fastener-de-i fleeting surfacesp and fastenermembers extendmg. through those passages and intotheinnen sole, the fastener members having portionsen: gagingthe deflecting surfaces and slopingtqward each other an d away'from the stiffener and being. clenched-Within the. material of the inner sole. j

The inventioniwill beexplained with reference tome-accompanying drawing, in which Figs lgis a plan view of the'upper or insoleengaging side of a shank stiffener made in,ac'-.

Fig. '2 {i'saside elevational view of theshank stiffener showing itin assembled relation withlthe Fig. 3 is a,;fr'agment:ary, sectionallview along thelinejIIIIII of Fig.]1; I V i Fig. '4 'is a plan view; ofthe lower or outsole-.

ta ken Fig-5 is a viewfsimilartoFig. 4 but showing the Fig. 6jis a view ,-in;central longitudinal section andon an enlarged scaleQof one end portion of,

the stifiener fshowing-it as .it appearswhenstapled to an insole;

onal view of the shank poly avihg the improved stiffener em- Fig..8-is an enlargedplan viewof one end tion of thestiffener;

- Fig. is a plan view of one end portion of a stiffener embodying a modification of the'present' 12 having the usual longitudinal curvature shown in.Fig..2. "To enable the shank stifienerto be attached to a shoe sole,lsuch as the insole shown 7 at 14, by means of fastener devices, such as the the staples 16, the stiffener strip. 12 is provided at, each end portion thereof with a pair of passages 18 for receiving thelegs of the staples! As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 9, inclusive,"the' passages 18' are spaced apart lengthwise of. the stiffenerstrip V r I e the outsole to be laid in close contact'with the outer face of the stiffener 'strip,- The relation of so thatthe crossb-ars or heads of the-staples will extend longitudinally of the stiffener, this construction having been found best adapted for-use in relatively narrow stiffenerfstrips, such as those 7 commonly employed in many types of women'sshoes. wider stiifenerstrips, however; it may be desirable to space the passages 18 widthwise of the stiffener stripgas shown in Fig. 10, so thatv theicrossbars of the staples will be disposedtransverselyof thestiff'enerfstrip, The passages 18 are formed with inner-side walls 20 (Fig; 6) which are substantially"perpendicular to the surfaces of the stiffener strip and, in order to insure that r the legs of the staple shall be'defiected inwardly so as to clench within the material of the insole, instead of extending entirely through theinsole, the passages- '13 are formed also with'flaring outer side walls shaped and arranged to provide,

side walls of the passages 18 constitute trough; 50"

in connection with each passage, a relativelya; large triangular entrance-opening 24 at the outsole-engaging side 'of'the stiffener strip; a relatively small approximately circular outlet open-v ing 26;: in line' with the inner'side wall 20, at the insole-engaging'side of: the stiffener strip, .and

deflecting surfaces 22 which slope downwardly toward the opening 26 and terminate in a curved portion 23v arranged to curl the points-of the staple legs toward the head of the staple. In addition to' sloping as above described, the por- A tions of the outersidewalls of the passage18 at opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of I the stiffener strip also slopeinwardly towardsaid center line, as indicated at 25; 25 in Fig. 9. Thus; as best shown in Figs. 6,8 andl9, the sloping outer like depressions shaped and arranged to receive the pointed ends of thestaple legs and to direct them toward the relatively-small openings 26; 1 To insure proper clenching "of the staple 'legsin' the material of the" insole, these troughelike depres sions are formed so that the sloping outer side walls of the'passages 18 extend to points outsults in striking'up projections-or spurs'28 at the latter hasvbeen attachedto the sole.

insole-engaging side of the stiifenerstrip' which function, by embedding themselves in thematerial of the insole, to assist in preventing edgewise displacement of the stiffener strip-after the As shown,

the passages 18 are connected, at, the outsole-engaging side of the stiffener--"strip .by a shallow. groove 30 adapted to receive the crossbaror head" [32 0f the stapler This construction enables the heads of the staples to be countersunk inthe stifiener stripso that theyalwill be 'flush or substantially flush the surface'of'the'strip so passages. a a .7 "6; A'shank stifienerprovided with a pair'of as not to interfere with the layingand leveling of the outsole, I

When a staple is driven through the passages 18 the inner ends of the legs of the staples will be deflectedinwardly or toward each other by the inclinedcsurfaces 20 so that the staple legs will clench within the material. of the insole between the inner and outer surfaces thereof, the construc tion'and arrangement of the deflecting surfaces being preferably such'as to cause the points of the'staples to:curl inwardly andlclench beneath the head of the staple, as best shown at 34 in' 6, and the head 30 of the staplewill be countersunk within the groove 30, thus enabling the stiffener strip to the other parts of the shoe is best shownin Fig. 7 wherein 36 indicates the upper materials of the shoe, 38 the outsole, and

40 the stitching which unitesthese parts with the insole 14. f r

' .In attaching: the" stiffener 1 strip 12 it is prefer V able to employ staple driving mechanisrn'having means for locatingthe'strip relatively thereto, such as that described and claimed United States LettersPatent No; 1,904,314, granted April 18, 1933; upon application of Arthur S;. Johnson.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters'Patent of the United States is: I

1. That improvement in methods'of attaching shank stiffeners which consists in placing a shank stiffener upon a sole, positioning a staple with its legs straddling a portion of the sti fiener,--' and forcing the legs of the staple into thesole in converging directions to clench'themwithinthemate'rial of the sole beneath the head of the staple.

[2,- That'improvement in methods'of attaching shankstiffeners which consists inplacinga shankstiffener upon a sole; positioning a stapleffastener with its legs-straddling a portion of-the stiffener, and driving the'legs of the staple'into'the sole while deflecting them inwardly towardeach-other and. embedding the end portions of the'legs in the sole; I V e V 3. A'shank stiffener having fastener-deflecting surfaces'constructedand arranged to deflect fastener members toward'each other as said'mem bersare driven into a shoe sole. r i

. 4. A shank stiffener having apair of oppositely inclined fastener-deflecting surfaces constructed and. arranged to deflectthe legs of a staple fastener toward each other so that they will clench within the material of a sole to which the shank stiffener is to be applied.

1 5.; A'shank stiffener comprising a longitudinally arched strip having a pair-of passages for receiving, fastener-members constructed and arranged to provide oppositely-inclined surfaces sloping m-- wardly toward the longitudinallyconvex side of the strip to deflect said fastener members toward each otherasthey are being driven through said spaced passages with oppositely inclined surfaces adjacentto opposite sides of said passages, said surfaces sloping inwardlyand arranged to deflect toward-ieachfother the legsfof a staple driven passages which the shank stiffener is to be applied, and a groove located between said deflecting surfaces for receiving the crossbar of the staple.

8. A shank stiffener having two spaced passages extending therethrough for receiving the legs of a staple fastener, said passages being connected by a groove at one side of the stiffener for receiving the crosspiece of the staple, and a surface adjacent to each passage inclined to deflect inwardly the legs of the staple as .theyare being driven therethrough.

, 9. A shank stiffener comprising an elongated strip having in each end portion a pair of spaced passages with oppositely inclined surfaces at the opposite sides of said passages, said surfaces slop- 1 1. A shank stiffener comprising'a strip having two spaced passages extending therethrough for receiving fastener members, each of said' passages having substantially perpendicular inner side walls and flaring outerside walls constructed and arranged to provide a relatively large inlet at one side of the stiffener strip and a relatively small outlet at the other side of the strip, and a deflecting surface in the line of drive of the staple legs, said deflecting surface and said outlet being shaped and arranged to cause the staple legs to clinch within the material of a sole to which the stiffener is applied. 12; A shank stiffener having two spaced apertures therein for receiving fastener members and having trough-like depressions adjacent to said apertures shaped and arranged to receive the ends of said fastener members and to guide them through said apertures in directions toward each other.

13. A shank stiffener having two spaced pasv 1 1. A shank stifiener comprising a strip'having in each end portion a pair of passages spaced apart lengthwise of the strip and having oppositely inclined surfaces adjacent to the opposite sides of said passages, said surfaces being shaped and arranged to aline the legs of the staples with the longitudinal center line of the stiffener.

15. A shank stiffener comprising a strip having in each end portion a pair of passages spaced apart lengthwise of the strip and having oppo-- sitely inclined surfaces adjacent to the opposite sides of said passages, said surfaces sloping both lengthwise and crosswise with respect to a line ener and being clenched "within the material of connecting said'passages for the purpose of guid- I ing the legs of the staples into said'passages and deflecting the staple legs toward eachother 'so that they will clench within'the material of the sole;' 16. A shank stiffener h'avinga pair of passages for receiving the legs of a staple and curved deflecting surfaces adjacent to said passages constructed and arranged to cause the ends of the staple legs to curl toward the head of'the staple.

17. In a shoe havingan inner sole and an outer sole, a shank ,stiifen'er located between the soles and having converging fastener-deflecting surfaces, and a staple fastener member having porf tions engaging said deflecting surfaces and extending toward each other into the body of the inner sole. l. 18. In ashoe having innerand" outer soles, a shank stiffener located between the soles and provided with a pair of passages providing converging fastener-deflecting surfaces, and fastener membersextending through saidpassages and into the inner, sole, said members having portions engaging said deflecting surfaces'and slopl I ing toward each other andaway fromsaid stiffthe inner sole. I

19. In a shoe having inner andvouter soles, a,

'shank stiffener located between the solesan'd I I having in each end portion of the stiffener a pair of passages providing converging fastenere-de fleeting surfaces, and a staple fastener associated with each of said pairs of passages and arranged with its legs extending through said passages and into theinner sole, said staple legs engaging said deflecting surfaces and sloping toward each other and away-from the stiffener andgbeing'clenched between the surfaces of the inner sole. v

20. The combination of a sole, an elongated. shank stiffener in engagement therewith having converging fastener-deflecting surfaces inclined lengthwise of the stiffener, and a fastener member having portions engaging said'deflecting sur-. faces and sloping toward each other, said portions extending into the sole in directions deter- 1 20 mined by the said deflecting surfaces. 7

21. The combination'of a sole,.'a shank stiffener in engagement with'the' sole, said stiffener.- beingprovided with two spaced passages and having a pair of inclined converging fastener-'- defleotingportions adjacent to said passages projecting into the sole to insure against relative edgewise displacement of thesole and the stiffener, and fastener membersextending through said passages and into the sole; said members having portions engaging said deflecting surfaces and sloping toward each other 22. In a shoe having an inner soleand an outer sole, a shank stiffener located between the soles and secured to the inner sole by means of a fastener member extending through the stiffener and having an end portion clenched within the material of; the inner sole without passing through the innersole, and fastener-deflecting means on the'shank stiffener embedded in the inner sole. 1 I

'. w LEROY W. ROLLINS.

ARTHUR S. JOHNSON;

I so;

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent 1 10. 1,936,955. November 28, 1933.

Le nor w. ROLLINS, ET AL.

it is hereby certified thaterror appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3, iine 89, claim 17, strike out the word "member"; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may contorm to the record of the'case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 20th day of February, A. D. 1934.

F. M. Hopkins ESea-l) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

